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Sunday, September 30, 2012

Without a Topic in Mind

I have a few conference left for tomorrow. Most of them will be phone conferences (I am going to surprise them since they did not sign up to meet with me). My room will be a bit messy as I take out my track out to do list (which is really long at the moment) and decide what I really want to get done.

I do not have any plans for my almost three week break besides working on some TPT stuff, clean the house and do some fun things with my own kids. I am also planning lunch dates with friends I never get to see.  Relaxing and having the house to myself will be great!

I have one thing on sale on TPT and the day I sold my first one I screamed, texted my husband and waited for some feedback. Not sure why but the feedback from my sales has not come. I wonder if it is terrible, helpful, descent, or just plain OK.  How do you encourage your buyers to let you know about their purchase?

Ms. Santana from The Learning Tree sent me this cute sign from her 500 Giveaway. Thanks Kimberly!


My principal is retiring and I am heartbroken. I said it. I love her.
What is it like to have a new principal?  I have only worked for two, but this is the first time I will work for someone who did not hire me... and that is stressing me out!  Any advice?

Friday, September 21, 2012

Fall is Here!

We have had some gorgeous weather around here. I am so glad my kids get to enjoy recess without complaining melting. Today I may have extended our recess for 10 minutes today. Don't tell anyone. 

I am looking forward to celebrating Halloween, having my kids eat tons of candy for one night, and celebrating my 15th wedding anniversary. 

Casey is celebrating the beginning of Fall with a blog hop and I was invited! I couldn't say no. I am easy  sometimes :)


There is only one tiny problem.

I  have... one...You read that right, one... item on sale. Nothing else :) 
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My first three-week break begins in a week. I think I will be working hard on showing you some things I have been working on lately. 

At the end of the day ...it is all about the fun and the support we show to each other, right? 

It is report card weekend for me. Wish me luck!

Thursday, September 13, 2012

How do you show your feelings? (freebie)

This week during Writer's Workshop, we worked on showing our feelings by using specific actions.

I had faces ready for them to use. The kids worked in small groups and began brainstorming one characteristic that could describe how you look, or what you do that matched that facial expression. Each group had the chance to write one word and rotate through the rest of the classroom where the other cards were located.

After each group had the chance to participate I made this:

The next couple of days, we reviewed our chart and talked about expressing our feeling through actions and specific details. They had to write some 'feeling sentences' to practice.

Some of my favorites:

I had a very red face when my sister pinched me.
My mouth was wide open the day I saw my new dog.
In the morning my face was really, really red because my mom woke me up.
My legs were shaking on the first day of school.
When I got a new toy I was jumping up and down.
The day my brother cut up my pompoms, I yelled loudly because I could not use them anymore.
Seeing a big black bear, makes my body shake without control.
I had tears down my eyes, the day my brother went to the beach for a whole week.

Here are the faces....in case you like them :)

So...how do you show your feelings?

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Tokens! My behavior Management

I remember reading about this behavior system loooong time ago while student teaching. Once I had my first classroom, I began thinking about behavior management. I did the green, yellow, and red lights my first year without much success. It was not for me.
Once I changed schools that system was not allowed well received by my new principal, so my token system was born... Tokens were it!

I purchased a few bags of color counters. I then used my sharpie and began numbering twenty color counters. 20 ones, 20 two's, 20 three's... and so on. I placed them in a letter box from Lakeshore (used for alphabet cards).

My students have PIN numbers (alphabetical by first name) and they'll do anything for tokens!

In the beginning of the year tokens are given every minute of the day for anything done right: Writing the date on the right side of the paper, being quiet in the hallway, showing manners, using neat handwriting, remembering routines, staying on task, participating during class discussions... anything that highlights making great choices :)

I feel like a crazy token lady!  I see tokens...I dream tokens :)  But I promise you, it works!!

"So and so...go get a token for ________"  Thank you for doing that!

When the kids get tokens they place them in a jewelry bag I purchased at Michael's.

Once they have earned twenty tokens, the kids exchange them for a Token reward: homework pass, computer time, morning greeters, bring stuffed animal to school, sweet treat (purchased by me), wearing a hat to school... and the cycle begins all over again.

On the other hand...they can also loose tokens for making poor choices. I try not to take any tokens away and concentrate on the good.  But rewards and consequences go together, right?

During Open House the best topic is "Tokens!"... and I that, always brings a smile to my face.  Who said anything about learning if you can earn tokens?